YORK, Pa. — The historic Lebanon Cemetery in York is asking its neighbors to look for suspicious activity after several gravestones were knocked over in an apparent act of vandalism.
On Friday, workers at the historically African American cemetery discovered between seven and nine gravestones were knocked over. Samantha Dorm, president of the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, said the incident likely occurred overnight on Thursday.
"I received a phone call yesterday from our treasurer, who has been helping to make sure the grass gets cut, and he says, ‘Sam, I’ve just filed a police report. We have several stones knocked down,'" recalled Dorm.
Dorm added that several more gravestones were clearly disturbed, but still standing. A few are noticeably leaning over. Among the toppled markers was a military headstone that cemetery volunteers had uncovered and cleaned up.
"That stone used to be sticking five inches out of the ground, and our volunteers were able to take that out, reset it, and be able to honor that veteran like he should be," said Dorm. “It was probably about eight people who worked on that stone, between getting reset and cleaned. This is hallowed ground, not a playground.”
Team Rubicon, a national Veteran’s humanitarian organization, already had a crew scheduled on Saturday to clear tree branches and limbs on cemetery property prior to the incident. Chris Marcheski, a Central Pennsylvania administrator for the nonprofit, said he called on extra help to start cleaning up the damage.
"When you see these veteran headstones turned over, it really gives you a horrible sinking feeling in your stomach," said Marcheski. “We’re going to try and honor the veterans by getting the headstones back in place, where they rightfully belong, and restore some honor to these gravesites.”
The Lebanon Cemetery is asking any neighboring homes or businesses with security cameras to check for any suspicious activity around the time of the incident.
FOX43 reached out to the Northern York County Regional Police Department for comment on the investigation. The department has not responded as of Saturday night.